Gibbins, Hartsook Hired as Regional Extension Directors

AMES, Iowa – Paul Gibbins and Eugenia Hartsook have been hired to fill new regional director positions with Iowa State University Extension and Outreach.

Beginning May 1, Gibbins will serve as regional director for Polk County. He has served as executive director for ISU Extension and Outreach Polk County since 2017. Previously he managed Iowa’s North Central Region STEM Hub. He also has served as assistant director for Upward Bound Math and Science at Central College, in Pella, Iowa, and has taught math at the college and high school level.

Beginning June 1, Hartsook will serve as regional director for Story County. She has served as executive director for ISU Extension and Outreach Story County since 2017. Previously she was the state field director for PROSPER with the Partnerships in Prevention Science Institute at Iowa State University. In addition, she has 15 years of experience with ISU Extension and Outreach in the human sciences field.

The new regional director positions were created as part of a restructuring in ISU Extension and Outreach to better serve Iowa’s 99 counties, according to Andrea Nelson, assistant vice president for county services. Since 2009, ISU Extension and Outreach has operated with 20 regions, varying in size from three to eight counties, each served by a regional director.

“With the new structure that takes effect statewide July 1, ISU Extension will have 27 regions, each served by a regional director. Three regions are one-county regions – Polk, Story and Dallas. The remaining 24 regions each include three to five counties,” Nelson explained.

The 20 regional directors from the previous configuration have been assigned to the new regions and will shift into their new positions on July 1. Searches are in progress to fill the remaining vacancies, Nelson said.

[PHOTO] Paul Gibbins

[PHOTO] Eugenia Hartsook